John places these words in the hours before Jesus’ arrest, which shapes them more than we often realize. This isn’t a quiet devotional moment. It’s a farewell. Jesus speaks peace into a room thick with confusion, sorrow, and fear. He knows what the disciples do not—that they are minutes away from chaos. The peace he offers is not the kind the world promises, built on the absence of trouble or the illusion of control. It’s the kind you carry even as the storm breaks around you.

I need to place this in context. Caregivers know this tension well. I have cared for our severely disabled daughter for 22 years, but I am not alone in this. In the United States, with a population of 400 million people, there are around 50 million unpaid caregivers, usually caring for a family member. Just about everyone will wind up caring for someone at some point.

In that setting, you know you can do everything right and still watch the night unravel. Stability today offers no guarantee for tomorrow. When Jesus says, “My peace,” he isn’t offering distraction or escape. He is offering himself. His peace wasn’t shaken by betrayal, arrest, or the cross. It doesn’t require good news or predictable days. It settles deeper than circumstances, meeting us in the place where fear tends to bloom.

This is where his words matter for caregivers and all of us facing challenging times. Peace, as Christ defines it, isn’t the promise that everything will work out the way you long for. It’s the presence of One who never leaves you to face any of it alone. His peace steadies you when medical updates shift, when exhaustion reaches its limit, when you find yourself bracing for what might come next. Our circumstances may not calm down, but his peace can calm us within them.

Father, I need the peace your Son promised, the kind that holds when life does not. Teach me to rest in Christ’s presence even when trouble surrounds me. Let his steadiness become my own, and help me face each day without fear. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Donn King.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Let’s look at the verses that surround today’s introduction as Jesus speaks to his disciples. John 15, lines nine through ten state:

Followed by verse twelve:

Jesus speaks of his joy, meaning his great happiness, delight, or pleasure, that this euphoria would be shared with his disciples. In the collective three lines preceding and following, “love” is used seven times! Love! The message from Jesus is clear! Love! He commands in line twelve “to love”!

Love, not hate! Not the hate that is spewed from any of today’s digital media. Love! Don’t give in to the primordial emotions of hate and fear! Don’t be played by the talking heads!

Love! Jesus commands us to love!

Think of it. Jesus is issuing his own commandment: “Love one another”!

Jesus was questioned by the Pharisees as to which was the greatest commandment, and part of his answer in Matthew 22:39 was:

The recurring message from Jesus is to love!

Our neighbor is across the street, across the county, across the state, across the country, and across the world. It is imperative upon us to help. Help in any way that you can. This is Jesus speaking to us, not any talking head in the media or elected office. Jesus.

Jesus, as God’s messenger, God’s son, is always very specific in what he is saying. He uses the word “command” since he was there from the beginning. He was there when Moses took the tablets down from Mt. Sinai, and he was famously there when he told the Pharisees in John 8:58, “Before Abraham was, I am”!

The message from Jesus is clear. Love. Live your life as though your afterlife depends on love, because it does!

God above, love is not necessarily an easy thing to do. Give us the strength, power, and determination to love those around us, and around the world, as Jesus would have us do. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Sam Barto.



Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

You are listening to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast produced by the people of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee.

This is Scripture Saturday, a time when we pause and reflect on the scriptures we have read throughout the week. If you missed any of our devotionals on these passages, you can find them on our website at 1stChurch.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Now, we invite you to listen and receive Grace. Welcome and thank you for joining us.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.